Electric energy suppliers experience variability in the demand for their product, electric energy. This variability typically reflects demands for energy brought on by temperature extremes, and time of day cycles. Invariably, the peak energy demand is at a level significantly higher than the average energy demand. To accommodate the peak energy demands, energy suppliers must spend more capital for additional energy generation equipment, or else buy additional energy as needed at peak energy rates, which are considerably higher than non-peak rates. Concurrently with efforts to provide sufficient energy at peak times of demand, energy suppliers have developed programs to reduce energy consumption by their customers. These energy reduction efforts are aimed both at overall reduction in energy consumption, such as, for example, by encouraging customers to purchase more energy efficient appliances, and at peak energy reduction, such as by establishing programs that allow the energy suppliers to disengage various customers at peak demand times to temporarily lower peak demand.
One known system for lowering peak energy demand involves disconnecting or shedding certain customer loads on a priority basis, and reconnecting them according to a scheme that takes into account the different energy demands of different types of a class of appliances. Another system includes remote control of appliances in a set of customer buildings of a energy supplier to reduce the peak energy. Another system reduces energy by a fixed percentage for each customer to manage peak load.
It would be advantageous if there could be developed an improved system for managing peak energy demands. Such a system would beneficially partially smooth out the peaks in demand, thereby enabling a more efficient use of resources.